The Philippine National Police (PNP) said it will investigate the social media posts of some police stations accusing slain former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. of being part of the New People’s Army (NPA).
PNP Public Information Office Chief Police Brigadier General Roderick Augustus Alba said the agency is now looking into the posts, GMA News reported. The official said those who made the posts, which have since been taken down, “will face appropriate disciplinary actions.”
“The PNP does not engage in name calling that can malign any person’s reputation. We value respect for human dignity,” he said in a statement.
This comes after several police stations—including the Batangas Maritime Police and the Quezon Maritime Police—earlier made posts on their social media accounts using the hashtags “NinoyNotAHero” and “NinoyNPA” over the weekend, GMA News reported. The social media posts have since been deleted.
The PNP statement was released on Sunday, which was earlier announced as a special non-working day to commemorate Aquino’s assassination.
The PNP earlier faced issues of red-tagging activities such as linking community pantries to communist groups and allegedly profiling organizers, causing the Quezon City Police District to apologize, reports said, prompting former PNP chief General Guillermo Eleazar to order police officers to stop red-tagging activities.
An ABS-CBN News report meanwhile said Filipinos on Sunday remembered Ninoy Aquino on his 39th death anniversary.
The Ninoy & Cory Aquino Foundation published a short video tribute to the former lawmaker who was assassinated upon arrival in Manila from the United States where he was on exile for three years, on Aug. 21, 1983, ABS-CBN reported.
“Today, we honor the memory, courage and indomitable spirit of Sen. Benigno S. Aquino Jr., and the millions of beating hearts that stood with his – when his life was offered in the name of freedom 39 years ago,” the foundation’s post said.
“His faith made him a hero, and his faith in us made heroes of us all,” it added.
